Tulips, Sunflowers, and Roses - Oh My!

On Monday, our English class took a field trip to the H.O. Botanical Garden at Penn State. Living in east halls, specifically on Park Ave, I have always noticed the massive field across the street. I was never quite sure what its purpose was to the school and why it was there. Truthfully, I looked up the location of the field trip fifteen minutes prior to class and I was surprised to find it so nearby. When I first entered the Arboretum I jokingly thought to myself, “Is this Narnia?” As I was exploring the garden, I focused on the exuberant colors of the flowers and how pretty they looked together. Flowers are my favorite type of plant because they are so beautiful and colorful. Different shades of green, pink, purple, red, white, and yellow were scattered down two strips of path that led to an arbor with a wooden bench beneath. The scenery was so peaceful; I truly enjoyed myself as I strolled down the graveled path through the serene garden. I could not help to think how pretty it must look in the springtime. The flowers just blossoming, birds chirping, and the overall tranquility. Back home, almost every beautiful Sunday my dad would spend the entire day working in the yard. He would always try to inform me about all different types of flowers and trees and during which season they grew. I have always thought that flowers and plants are lovely and add so much beauty to life. On the other hand, when it came to yard work – that was someone else’s chore. I was told that there was a pond in the Arboretum, and unfortunately I never saw it. In my backyard at home we have two ponds with waterfalls and koi fish. My dad puts in a lot of work to maintain our ponds and fish and I love spending time near them. The Arboretum allows people to get away from the outside world. Once you are in there, it is like you are in your own world. No cars, no bikes – simply nature. I hope that in the spring the garden will expand. I loved the flowers but I felt as if I was walking in a circle quite a lot. There are so many neat landscaping ideas, it would be awesome if they took advantage of that and made the botanical garden even better. Every year right at the beginning of spring we all go down to DC and look at the gorgeous cherry blossoms on the mall. I absolutely love the color of cherry blossoms and it made me wonder if they had cherry blossoms here as well. I definitely would come back to the Arboretum and bring my friends. The location is so convenient, why not? I will probably wait until spring, however, because plants are just about dying right now and it will look ten times more beautiful!